Lesson Topic: Focus on written grammar (writing descriptions)
Learning Area(s): HSIE/English
Lesson Aim: Through exploration of travel brochures students will experiment with writing descriptions of places in Australia as if writing for a travel brochure, focussing on the grammatical features of descriptions (i.e. adjectives to evoke feeling). This will assist students with the written component of their final assignment.
Syllabus Outcomes and Indicators: HSIE ENS2.5 Describes places in the local area and other parts of Australia and explains their significance. English TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum. · listens to descriptions of unfamiliar places ·offers opinions about descriptions read aloud · justifies a point of view with supporting evidence TS2.4 Identifies common organisational patterns and some characteristic language features of a few types of predictable spoken texts. ·talks about common grammatical structures RS2.6 Uses efficiently an integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and interpreting written texts. ·identifies adjectives and how they are used to provide information about nouns RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes. ·recognises how different literary texts are organised according to their purpose RS2.8 Discusses the text structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features that are characteristic of those text types. ·identifies additional elements in noun groups, eg describing adjective, classifying adjective, comparing adjective, numbering adjective WS2.9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features. ·uses other texts as models for aspects of writing such ·structures text types in appropriate stages ·writes fuller descriptions of places ·writes for a chosen audience ·selects relevant information to use in own writing WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type. ·builds word families in preparation for writing ·uses correct punctuation in published version of own writing WS2.13 Discusses how own texts are adjusted to relate to different readers, how they develop the subject matter and how they serve a wide variety of purposes. ·understands purpose and stages of the organisation of texts ·identifies audience of a text and adjusts writing accordingly. WS2.14 Discusses how own texts have been structured to achieve their purpose and the grammatical features characteristic of the various text types used. ·identifies nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in own writing and talks about their function in making meaning ·talks about how different types of adjectives have been used to add information in own writing
Resources: A selection of travel brochure pages with text covered Overhead projector Copy of travel page on overhead Copy of travel page with adjectives removed on overhead
Lesson Outline
Introduction: Place a page from a travel brochure that has a description about the place and an image onto an overhead projector. Read the description aloud to the class. Ask the students what the description made them feel – would they want to visit that place? What type of language was used to make them feel that way? Refer students to the posters on the wall that show what makes up a description (Subject, details, evaluation, summary) and the language features (describing, classifying, comparing, numbering adjectives; noun groups; relating verbs). Ask students to find those parts of the description in the one on the OHP – provide them with a pen to mark it with. Place up an overhead of a page from the travel brochure that has a description of a place with the adjectives removed. Read aloud to the class. Ask students what effect removing the adjectives had on the description. Ask students to add some suitable adjectives to the piece. Write these on the board for later referral. Inform students that they will be creating their own description about the place/site that they researched in pairs in the last lesson. Remind students of the key grammatical features that make up a description, and to think about how the adjectives were used in the previous examples to evoke a particular feeling for the reader.
Main Body:
Students will …
Teacher will…
Students will get into the pairs from the previous lesson. Students will collect a page from a travel brochure from the teacher with the text removed, preferably of the place/site they researched last lesson. Students will return to their desks and jointly construct a description about the site/place they have that would make someone want to visit that place. Students will use the pictures on the page to assist them. Students may use the word bank created on the board from the introduction to guide them, or the dictionary/thesaurus. Students will concentrate on using a variety of adjectives in order to make the description appealing to the reader. Students will share their description with the neighbouring pair when they are finished.
Provide students with a page from a travel brochure with the text covered. Move around the room, assisting students where required. Remind students to use the various types of adjectives found in descriptions.
Conclusion: Once all the students are finished, gather everyone together on the floor. Ask student pairs to read their descriptions to the class, showing the page of the travel brochure as well. Discuss with the class each pair’s description, and the grammatical features that made their description evoke a particular feeling from the listener.
Assessment: Collect students’ descriptions to see whether they are effectively able to use the grammatical features of a description to evoke feeling.
Make notes on student contribution to class discussion on descriptions.
Any special considerations or contingency plans: For fast finishers, students can choose another page from a travel brochure and write another description about that, or they may wish to write a description that makes the destination sound unappealing.
Self reflection: Were students engaged in the lesson? Did students understand the main grammar structure of a description? Was the timing given to each section sufficient for students learning? Did the lesson cater for all students’ needs and abilities? Were the aims of the lesson made clear to the students?
HSIE
ENS2.5 Describes places in the local area and other parts of Australia and explains their significance.
English
TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
· listens to descriptions of unfamiliar places
· offers opinions about descriptions read aloud
· justifies a point of view with supporting evidence
TS2.4 Identifies common organisational patterns and some characteristic language features of a few types of predictable spoken texts.
· talks about common grammatical structures
RS2.6 Uses efficiently an integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and interpreting written texts.
· identifies adjectives and how they are used to provide information about nouns
RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes.
· recognises how different literary texts are organised according to their purpose
RS2.8 Discusses the text structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features that are characteristic of those text types.
· identifies additional elements in noun groups, eg describing adjective, classifying adjective, comparing adjective, numbering adjective
WS2.9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features.
· uses other texts as models for aspects of writing such
· structures text types in appropriate stages
· writes fuller descriptions of places
· writes for a chosen audience
· selects relevant information to use in own writing
WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type.
· builds word families in preparation for writing
· uses correct punctuation in published version of own writing
WS2.13 Discusses how own texts are adjusted to relate to different readers, how they develop the subject matter and how they serve a wide variety of purposes.
· understands purpose and stages of the organisation of texts
· identifies audience of a text and adjusts writing accordingly.
WS2.14 Discusses how own texts have been structured to achieve their purpose and the grammatical features characteristic of the various text types used.
· identifies nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in own writing and talks about their function in making meaning
· talks about how different types of adjectives have been used to add information in own writing
A selection of travel brochure pages with text covered
Overhead projector
Copy of travel page on overhead
Copy of travel page with adjectives removed on overhead
Place a page from a travel brochure that has a description about the place and an image onto an overhead projector. Read the description aloud to the class.
Ask the students what the description made them feel – would they want to visit that place? What type of language was used to make them feel that way?
Refer students to the posters on the wall that show what makes up a description (Subject, details, evaluation, summary) and the language features (describing, classifying, comparing, numbering adjectives; noun groups; relating verbs).
Ask students to find those parts of the description in the one on the OHP – provide them with a pen to mark it with.
Place up an overhead of a page from the travel brochure that has a description of a place with the adjectives removed. Read aloud to the class.
Ask students what effect removing the adjectives had on the description.
Ask students to add some suitable adjectives to the piece. Write these on the board for later referral.
Inform students that they will be creating their own description about the place/site that they researched in pairs in the last lesson. Remind students of the key grammatical features that make up a description, and to think about how the adjectives were used in the previous examples to evoke a particular feeling for the reader.
Students will collect a page from a travel brochure from the teacher with the text removed, preferably of the place/site they researched last lesson.
Students will return to their desks and jointly construct a description about the site/place they have that would make someone want to visit that place. Students will use the pictures on the page to assist them.
Students may use the word bank created on the board from the introduction to guide them, or the dictionary/thesaurus.
Students will concentrate on using a variety of adjectives in order to make the description appealing to the reader.
Students will share their description with the neighbouring pair when they are finished.
Move around the room, assisting students where required.
Remind students to use the various types of adjectives found in descriptions.
Once all the students are finished, gather everyone together on the floor.
Ask student pairs to read their descriptions to the class, showing the page of the travel brochure as well.
Discuss with the class each pair’s description, and the grammatical features that made their description evoke a particular feeling from the listener.
Collect students’ descriptions to see whether they are effectively able to use the grammatical features of a description to evoke feeling.
Make notes on student contribution to class discussion on descriptions.
For fast finishers, students can choose another page from a travel brochure and write another description about that, or they may wish to write a description that makes the destination sound unappealing.
Were students engaged in the lesson?
Did students understand the main grammar structure of a description?
Was the timing given to each section sufficient for students learning?
Did the lesson cater for all students’ needs and abilities?
Were the aims of the lesson made clear to the students?